


Stress Relief

by geekruminations



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, peggysous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-08 18:15:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14111190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geekruminations/pseuds/geekruminations
Summary: Peggy is stressed out at work. But then she gets a package with a mysterious clue.Peggysous fluff.





	Stress Relief

**Author's Note:**

  * For [truth_renowned](https://archiveofourown.org/users/truth_renowned/gifts).



> My first Peggysous fic in a while. It hasn't been beta'ed so I hope it's okay. I didn't have it beta'ed because I'm gifting this to my beta, truthrenowned. I hope you like!

Daniel knew something was wrong when even Colonel Phillips stopped by to complain about Peggy’s mood.

He knew Peggy was stressed out. They all were. Starting up a new agency from scratch wasn't an easy feat. There was hiring to do and paperwork to fill out and the endless meetings to attend. He and Peggy had barely had any time lately to spend with each other. 

Daniel sighed and looked at the stack of paperwork on his desk. It was growing it seemed by the minute and he knew it was going to be another late night. But as he pondered another night at his desk, an idea began to form in his mind. 

Maybe it was time for a break. He could use it. And so could Peg. But how was he going to convince her? A spark of an idea flashed in his mind and he began to jot down notes.

There was no time to lose.

*2 hours later*

Peggy sighed and rubbed her temples, an act she had been repeating all day. It was exhausting, the amount of work that needed to be done. The worst was, she couldn’t see an end in sight. All she wanted was a warm bath and her soft bed but that was hours away. It was definitely going to be a long night once more.

A small knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Come in.”

In walked her assistant, Marie.

“Package for you, Director,” she said briskly.

“Thank you, Marie,” Peggy replied, nodding as she took the package. Marie was out the door before she could ask where it came from. 

There was no address, no postmark, no nothing. 

Just her name, “Director Peggy Carter” in a handwriting she did not recognize. 

She examined the package for several minutes, looking for any boobytraps but could not find one. Finally, she opened it slowly.

Inside was a single sheet of paper with a typed message.

‘Time to find what you seek,  
It shall take hours, not a week.  
There is no time to lose,  
As this is the first of several clues.  
Find the man for whom life is a lark,  
His name of course is…..’

“Howard Stark!” Peggy exclaimed loudly.

She stared at the note again, wondering about its origin. Her mind went immediately to Daniel of course. She was going to find out.

Grabbing the note, she headed to Daniel’s office down the hall. When she got there, she peeked in the window. There he was, deep in concentration, like he hadn’t moved in hours. 

She sighed. 

Peggy was sure it was him but if it was, she didn’t want to ruin the game. 

Not that she had time for games right now. 

She looked at the paper in her hand. She could ignore it and go back to work. 

But… she was intrigued.

So she headed down the hall to see Howard.

As she opened the lab door, smoke wafted in the air.

“Howard? What on earth are you doing?”

Upon hearing his name, Howard turned around, a grin pasted on his face.

“Peg! Ah...don’t worry. Just a little science experiment gone wrong. Here, I have something for you.”

Howard handed her a piece of paper. 

“Do you have any idea what this is about, Howard?”

Howard shrugged.

“One of the newbies handed this to me and told me to give it to you when you stopped by. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to get this done before my date with Darlene. Or was it Coreen?”

Peggy shook her head in amusement and walked out of the lab. In the hallway, she read the piece of paper.

‘Head to the file room,   
You will find me there.  
There are many files to choose from,  
But I am very rare.

I am solved,  
Though I came at a cost,  
I’m cold as ice,  
Just like ….

“Whitney Frost!” Peggy exclaimed.

She immediately began searching for the case file. Luckily, it had been filed in the correct spot. She opened the file and on the very last page, tucked into the file, was another typewritten piece of paper.

 

‘Time to head out!  
It’s time to go!  
So grab your things,   
And don’t say no.

What you have to find next,  
Is a simple photo card,  
Showing the devil in pink,  
Who of course is…’

“Bernard!” 

Peggy began to chuckle. She couldn’t help herself. 

When they had moved back to New York, Jarvis was extremely glad that Bernard had stayed behind. However, as a joke, Daniel and her took a photo of Bernard and had it printed for Jarvis. 

It was currently on the mantle at the Stark mansion.

Peggy hurried to her office and began getting ready. It wasn’t until she had her coat on that she looked down at her stack of papers and sighed. She couldn’t really leave now. She still had a lot of work to do and….

She glanced at the paper again.

Peggy knew for sure that Daniel had a hand in this. And she didn’t want to disappoint him.

“Oh, stuff it. This paperwork can wait.”

And with that, she headed to her car and was soon on her way to Howard’s mansion.

When Jarvis opened the door, he looked surprised.

“Why Ms. Carter, I wasn’t expecting you.”

Peggy raised an eyebrow. She doubted that.

“I need to check your mantle for something.”

Jarvis opened to door wider and let her in.

Peggy headed straight for the mantle in the main sitting room. There was the photo card of Bernard. She picked it up and found a piece of paper underneath. Immediately, she smiled. She was looking forward to this next clue or riddle or whatever it was.

‘Time to get dressed!  
You know what to do,  
You need a dress,  
And perhaps a shoe or two.

All you have to do,  
Is follow the list,  
A kindhearted person,  
Will definitely assist.’

“A kindhearted person….” Peggy said as she smiled. 

“Mr. Jarvis!” She shouted. 

Jarvis appeared a few moments later.

“Yes, Ms. Carter?” He inquired.

“Where is Ana?”

“She is in the north sitting room.”

“Thank you!”

Peggy hurried to the sitting room where Ana was waiting for her.

“Well..” Peggy asked as soon she as she got there.

“Well what?” Ana asked calmly.

“Don’t you have a note for me from Daniel?”

Ana smiled. “How do you know it’s from him?”

“Of course it is. Only he would go through with something this elaborate. Although I am not sure why.”

“I do have a note,” Ana said. “But first you need to get dressed.” Ana led her through to the adjoining suite where a dress, undergarments, and shoes where laid out for her. She noted that he was a dress that she knew Daniel had particularly admired. 

“Did he pick this out or did you?” Peggy asked.

“He did,” Ana admitted. “Now get dressed. There isn’t much time.”

“Do you know what is happening next?” Peggy asked curiously.

“I honestly have no idea,” Ana replied. “I was just told to help you get dressed.”

As Peggy got dressed, she couldn’t help but smile. Only Daniel would go through this elaborate scheme to...what? Go out for dinner? She knew that if he had asked her outright, she would have said no. But the clues? That was a clever way of getting her involved. 

And now she couldn’t care less about work. 

Once dressed, she gave a quick spin for Ana who declared her ready.

Then, Ana handed her a piece of paper. 

‘Now that you are ready,  
Here is the final clue,  
But I suspect strongly,  
That you know what to do.

The last request,   
In this little poem,  
Is to look for the light,  
And make your way….’

“Home,” Peggy whispered.

Peggy barely said goodbye to Ana and Jarvis as she rushed out of the mansion and got in her car. 

She drove as fast as she could without breaking the law towards their small house that they had purchased together when they had moved from Los Angeles. Of course, they were the scandal of the neighbourhood that they were not married yet, but Peggy didn’t care. And she knew Daniel didn’t either. 

As she drove down their street, she could see the light on. She pulled into the driveway, turned off the car, and hurried to the front door. Opening it, she could immediately smell something delicious.

“Daniel?” She called, stepping into the house.

A head popped out from the kitchen.

“Peg! Err…just one sec. I thought I would be ready but…” Daniel disappeared again, leaving her standing there.

But she was having none of it. She marched to the kitchen and stopped short at what she saw.

Their kitchen table had been covered with a nice tablecloth and the nice dishes were out; the ones they used for company. There were several pots bubbling on the stove and Daniel was stirring one of them, while looking in the oven at something else.

Peggy just watched him concentrate for a moment. She realized that there was music playing as well, softly in the background.

“Daniel Sousa, what’s the meaning of this?” She asked, trying to sound stern.

Daniel turned around.

“It’s...er...dinner?”

“I had a list of things to do at work and…”

“We needed a break,” Daniel interjected. “We haven’t really seen each other in days and I thought this was the best way to…”

“Tricking me?”

“I wasn’t quite tricking you,” Daniel protested.

Peggy began to laugh. First a giggle, then another, then she could barely contain herself.

“What’s so funny?” Daniel asked.

Peggy wiped her eyes and smiled.

“I’m not mad, Daniel, I promise. I’m...I’m overwhelmed. You went to all this trouble just so we could have dinner?”

Daniel nodded.

“It’s sweet and lovely and I may have to kiss you now.”

“Err...can you hold that thought?” Daniel asked sheepishly.

“What?” Peggy said, striding towards him.

“It’s just the sauce is going to burn and….mpmpf.”

Peggy pulled him into a heated kiss and the spoon clanged against the pot as Daniel wrapped his arms around her.

When they pulled apart, they were breathing heavily.

“Think we could save this dinner till later?” Peggy asked sultrily.

“You bet,” Daniel replied, smiling. He reached over and turned off all the elements. “But wait…”

“What?” Peggy asked.

“This dinner. It was supposed to be your stress relief. Maybe we should…”

“Don’t worry,” Peggy said coyly, “I can think of another way we can relieve stress.”

And when they sat at the table at midnight, eating cold pasta and drinking wine, they both concurred that they were definitely not stressed now.


End file.
